SuperCoach NBL: Standouts, bolters from pre-season hitouts

On the floor in Las Vegas, the Wildcats will have three of the most famous players in the SuperCoach NBL. You'll find the names you'll need to know below.

Star Perth recruit Keanu Pinder is poised to play for the Wildcats in a pair of games against a G League Ignite club boasting some of the most exciting NBA draft aspirants on the planet, marking his first significant action since an injury halted his pre-season.

The G League Fall Invitational in Las Vegas has attracted as many as 200 basketball scouts from across the world, including Perth's 18-year-old French NBA draft prospect, Alex Sarr.

Pinder, who has been bothered by a groin ailment, trained in Las Vegas on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of Thursday's matchup with G League Ignite, still wearing a hard plastic face mask to preserve the fractured orbital bone that took him out of the NBL finals campaign with his old team, Cairns, in January.

Despite not having signed a third import, the Wildcats have flown their entire team down to Vegas for the tournament. Leading scorer Corey Webster of New Zealand has returned from a hip flexor injury, and newcomer Hyrum Harris of the Tall Blacks arrived on Tuesday after their participation in the FIBA World Cup.

Coach John Rillie is confident in having his entire roster available for Wednesday's game.

"Corey has been practicing and is prepared to go.

"Keanu had a rough offseason, but he seems to be doing fine now. We're hoping he'll be available on Wednesday, too."

The Wildcats' roster has three of the league's top five players, so NBL coaches will want to keep a close eye on these contests.

Pinder (32% ownership), the two-time defending NBL Most Improved Player, will make his debut alongside Wildcats superstars Bryce Cotton (35.7%) and Sarr (30.5%).

With NBA teams scouting him, the 216-centimeter Sarr will want to boost his draft position after showing off his skills in two exhibition games against an NBL1 West select team over the weekend.

Depending on who you ask, Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis might be the first and second overall picks in the 2024 NBA draft, respectively. Izan Almansa and Thierry Darlan also have a shot at being lottery picks that year.

Some Australian basketball fans may recognise the name David Stockton, a veteran with the Ignite. Stockton is the son of NBA all-time assists leader John Stockton, and NBL fans may remember that he signed with New Zealand in 2016 to replace injured import Ben Woodside. In 10 games, he averaged 8.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.

The Wildcats play against the G League Ignite on Thursday and Saturday at 9 a.m. WA time and 11 a.m. AEST. Stream contests for free on the NBA app.

WILDCATS IN VEGAS

Bryce Cotton

Corey Webster

David Okwera

Hyrum Harris

Jordan Usher

Keanu Pinder

Kyle Zunic

Tai Webster

Jesse Wagstaff

Ben Henshall

Alexandre Sarr (Next Star)

Dontae Russo-Nance (Development Player)

Michael Harris (Development Player)

Jack Andrew (Development Player)

‘FIRST-PICKED CHEAPIE’: PRE-SEASON SCOUTING NOTES

Although it is still early in the preseason and many NBL clubs have not even had a proper hitout, we will nevertheless glean some all too soon SuperCoach NBL information.

With so many SuperCoach-relevant players away at the World Cup (Chris Goulding, Shea Ili), injured (Luke Travers, Matthew Dellavedova), or resting up after attending a wedding in the United States (Marcus Lee), what can we learn from the most recent games between Melbourne United and Tasmania on Monday and Wednesday?

SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL UNITED vs JACKJUMPERS MATCH REPORT

With 34 SuperCoach points in three quarters and a miniscule scoring machine, Milton Doyle ($344,600 GRD) proved why the JackJumpers fought so hard to bring him back. Both players scored 21 points on Monday night, but Jordon Crawford ($277,000 GRD) finished with 26. The most expensive player, Bryce Cotton, would have averaged 40.2 points a game last season, while Jack McVeigh ($262,300 GRF/FWD) finished with 28, and huge JackJumper Fabijan Krslovic ($136,300 FWD) scored the most SuperCoach points with 41. With Lee and the injured Will Magnay out, Krslovic becomes much less relevant as a SuperCoach, despite the fact that he will have the occasional breakout game.

Expect Ariel Hukporti's ($172,100 CTR) stock to soar once he gets up to speed after he got off to a poor start with scores of 14 (seven turnovers ruined his score) and 18. Hukporti missed all of last season with a ruptured Achilles. In games one and two, United's Zac Triplett ($69,000 GRD, 20 points) and Campbell Blogg ($58,500 GRD, 27 points) from the development roster were in the lead. That level of seasonal sunburn won't happen to either of them, though.

Tassie guard Sean Macdonald ($129,300 GRD) is intriguing due to his 36-point performance on Monday night if he were more reasonably priced.

Over a third of all SuperCoaches already own Luke Travers ($276,300 GRD/FWD), and he showed why he is the most popular player in the game when United faced off against Cal Baptist University on tour earlier this month. The former Perth Wildcats player's varied skill set netted him 48 SuperCoach points on the strength of 11 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 blocks, and 3 steals.

The Adolescent Is 7'3" Next Big Thing: Brisbane's Bullets Against CBU on August 10, Rocco Zikarsky ($115,000 CTR) scored 52 points, which is still a pre-season high. He followed it up with 22 points in just 9 minutes against Cairns last Saturday. I still think he'll be caught as a SuperCoach this year, but it would be great if he could prove me wrong.

Shannon Scott ($313,300 GRD), formerly of the Taipans, scored 33 points in his Bullets debut against his former team. Scott, who finished as the league's twelfth-highest scorer a year ago, figures to be a major differentiating factor. After scoring 24 and 14 points in his first two games, rookie forward Josh Bannan ($69,000 FWD) could be your first pick for a bargain. Even though No. 1 guy Nate Sobey wasn't there, it appears that $88.50 GRD man Isaac White will play a part as well. White scored 23 and 42 points in consecutive games.

Avoid the Taipans until they return from the United States, where they participated in the NBAxNBL games; however, take a chance on rookie big man Sam Mennenga for just $69,000.

As we saw, Perth is full of future SuperCoach stars. Bryce Cotton ($466,300 GRD), the highest-paid player in the game, struggled to get out of first gear but still scored 35 and 27 points in two games with an NBL1 West Select team. Both Michael Harris ($75,400 GRD) and Jordan Usher ($277,000 FWD) are on the radar after scoring 24 and 31 points, respectively. He's still in the minors, but if he can break into a greater role, he'll be useful for SuperCoach.

SuperCoaches have been approached by former Melbourne United forward David Okwera ($110,200 FWD, 16 and 25) and French Next Star Alex Sarr ($115,000 FWD/CTR, 30), but the Wildcats have not yet revealed their final import, set to be a power forward, who may eat into the big men's playing time.

Next week, the Wildcats will play two games in Las Vegas against the G League Ignite.

Not much can be gleaned from SEM's matchup with CBU. It will be interesting to see how the points are distributed when they have a full squad, as SuperCoach lock Mitch Creek ($418,900 FWD) didn't play, Alan Williams ($381,600 CTR) had 10 points in 10 minutes, and Gary Browne ($325,500 GRD) was close to the mark with 30 (all before the arrival of new import Will Cummings).

Several teams have already scheduled warmup games in preparation for the NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast on September 16.

On Friday night, the Phoenix and Adelaide will hit the field in Mt. Gambier. On Sunday, New Zealand will travel to take on Illawarra in the Snakepit.

United and the Phoenix will meet at Casey Stadium on the Saturday before the Throwdown.

Tassie triumphs twice over depleted United

Makeshift With this game against the JackJumpers, Melbourne United's two-game preseason tour of Tasmania came to a close.

United got Tanner Krebs back after what was thought to be a calf problem kept him out of Monday's 79-63 loss, giving them four healthy main roster players again.

United, led by the ex-Brisbane Bullet and a cast of developmental, train-on, and NBL1 players, rallied from a 21-point deficit to ultimately lose 89-78.

United saw Campbell Blogg and Zac Triplett while they were still in the developmental ranks, and they were offered spots on the roster. Blogg's inside-outside game helped him reach 13 points, up from 18 on Monday night, and sharpshooter Triplett drained four of his five three-point attempts en route to a team-high 14 points.

The 1100 Tassie fans who packed into Launceston's Elphin Sports Centre to see the JackJumpers got a taste of what they can expect in NBL24 from returning All NBL First-Teamer Milton Doyle and new arrival Jordon Crawford, who combined for 33 points and five steals before coach Scott Roth put the cue in the rack and they sat out the fourth.

United led 44-43 after a free throw by Ariel Hukporti with 2.28 left in the first half, but then watched helplessly as Tassie scored nine straight before the interval and then seven straight to start the third, for a 16-0 run that effectively ended the game.

In the third, 20-year-old United prospect Tom Koppens roughed up Mighty Mouse Crawford, one of the shortest guys to ever play in the NBL, on a screen. The 33-year-old Ohioan had some harsh words for the Sandringham Sabre before they faced off, making for a little humorous scene for spectators given that he towered over the taller Koppens by a full 10 inches.

United pulled within six points early in the fourth on a 16-4 surge, but Tassie recovered and held on.

Next Star Hukporti, who is returning from an Achilles rupture that derailed his NBL23 season, did not commit a single turnover in the two games he played and provided a peek of the power he can be for United this season by grabbing 23 rebounds and blocking four shots.

United failed to Boomer Chris Goulding, the Tall Blacks' Shea Ili and Flynn Cameron, and starters Luke Travers and Matthew Dellavedova stayed in Melbourne with undisclosed injuries. Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. is out until November due to wrist surgery.

Marcus Lee, a new recruit from Tasmania, missed his first game against his old team because he had to attend his sister's wedding in the United States over the weekend. The Jackies also missed out on seeing South Sudan's Junior Madut and Majok Deng make history at the World Cup.

While head coach Dean Vickerman traveled with the team, he primarily served in an advisory role while coaches David Barlow and Rhys Carter took turns calling the plays on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.